Yes; it’s time to get to the bottom of this.

The sooner you deal with this bandit problem Veritex mentioned, the better, it seems to you. With just a few simple inquiries, you find a merchant heading toward your family’s lands, and pay him a few coins to let you travel with the caravan and sleep in one of the wagons. Before first light the next day, you set off.

The journey goes easily; you spend most of your time riding in the ox-drawn wagon, occasionally hopping out to stretch your legs by walking alongside the lumbering caravan. You watch as the suburbs of Rome give way to the rolling countryside and massive fields along the Tiber, and your mind calms as you head out of the city. It’s quiet out here, and peaceful. The night you spend on the road is rainy, but between the wagon’s cover and your cloak you’re dry enough.

Midway through the morning on the second day you leave the caravan with thanks and we’ll-wishes for the merchant and make your way down the small, cypress-flanked path that leads to your villa. You haven’t been here in a few years, but you came here often as a child with your father, and the way there is engraved in your memory. The path leads through your family’s land, and you note with pleasure that both the wheat fields and the vineyards seem to be flourishing; small groups of enslaved workers are busy in both. At the top of the hill you finally see your villa, and your pace quickens.

A gray-haired, solidly built man meets you in the foyer; clearly, he saw you coming up the path. “Lord Gaius, gods bless you,” he says, extending a hand. His grip is rock-solid. “You’ve grown much since we saw you last. I was so sorry to hear of your father’s ****.”

“Thank you, Adolphus,” you say. The man served your father in the army and since has been a loyal citizen servant; he’s a skilled farmer who’s tended your family’s lands for years now. “His **** was a blow to all of Rome. But I’m glad to be able to come here in his stead, for as long as the gods grant me.”

He smiles. “Well said, well said. I hope you’ve not forgotten my family: my wife, Antonia, and daughter, Albina.” The two women come forward from the edge of the room, catching your attention for the first time, and you’re pleasantly surprised. Antonia is a homely matron, as you remember her; Albina, however, has changed. She’s slightly younger than you, and you remember playing together as children; but it’s been many years since you’ve seen each other, and now she’s developed into an attractive young woman with shining dark eyes, dark hair, and the hint of a shapely body beneath her gown. You smile and shake both mother’s and daughter’s hands.

“Of course I remember you both. It’s a pleasure to see you once more.”

Adolphus smiles broadly. “Well, Lord Gaius, I’m sure you’re interested in how the estates are doing—should we discuss that now, over a meal, or is there anything else we can do for you first?”